Naseem becomes fastest South Asian woman

Historic and stunning show
DHAKA: Pakistan's Naseem Akhtar produced a historic and stunning show by becoming the fastest woman of the region when she snapped up a gold medal by winning the 100-metre sprint event of the 11th South Asian Games here on Monday.
The 22-year-old from Rawalpindi clocked 11.81 seconds to emerge as the queen of the track with her sterling show before a strong crowd at Bangabandhu National Stadium.
Wearing national green tights, she raced like a lightening to lead the field among the eight runners after easily qualifying for the finals.
"I had forgotten the world for nearly six months and trained really very, very hard under my coach Maqsood Ahmed to achieve my dreams," she told reporters after her triumph.
Both the results in 100 metres men and women events were regarded as upsets as Shehan toppled India's Abdul Najeeb Qureshi who won the 200 metres.
On the other hand, a woman from Pakistan winning the 100-metre sprint was unimaginable as it did not happen in the 26-year history of the regional games. Naseem blazed the track to make history there. Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) Chief Lt. Gen (Retd) Syed Arif Hasan greeted Naseem for her historic performance and announced Rs100,000 cash prize for here remarkable achievement. -APP